(1) A biobanking agreement has effect from a day, or on the happening of an event, specified in the agreement.

(2) A biobanking agreement has effect in perpetuity, unless:

(a) it is terminated by consent of the Minister and all the owners (for the time being) of the biobank site concerned, or

(b) it is terminated by the Minister (without the consent of the owners), and that termination is authorised by this Part.

(3) The Minister must not consent to the termination of a biobanking agreement unless such measures as may be required by the Minister are taken by the owner of the biobank site to offset any negative impact of the termination on the biodiversity values protected by the agreement. This subsection does not apply if voluntary termination of the agreement is permitted under this section.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the required measures may include one or more of the following:

(a) the cancellation of credits created in relation to the biobank site,

(b) the retirement of credits created in relation to another biobank site,

(c) entering into a biobanking agreement for the purpose of establishing another biobank site.

(5) The Minister must consent to the termination of a biobanking agreement on the request of the owner of the biobank site if voluntary termination of the agreement is permitted under this section.

(6) For the purposes of this section, voluntary termination of a biobanking agreement is permitted only if the owner of the biobank site requests the termination of the agreement within 3 months after it is entered into, or after the expiry of 5 years after the agreement has been entered into, and at the time of termination:

(a) no biodiversity credits have been created in respect of the biobank site, or

(b) in a case where biodiversity credits have been created, the owner of the biobank site is the holder of all credits that have been created since registration of the biobank site, none of the credits created have been retired and all the credits are cancelled by the Chief Executive with the consent of the owner.

(7) The regulations may prescribe a procedure for applying for the consent of the Minister to the termination of an agreement, including by requiring a fee to be paid in respect of an application.